Montreal names street after Hall of Famer, Expos star Gary Carter

The late Gary Carter last wore a Montreal Expos jersey back in 1992, but the impact he made on Montreal baseball fans lives on. The city will honor the Hall of Fame catcher Tuesday by naming a city street after him. Carter died in February after a battle with brain cancer. He played for the Expos from 1978-84 and then returned to the team for the 1992 season before retiring.

“Gary was here for over 10 years and Gary was synonymous of the Expos the time he was here,” broadcaster Jacques Doucet told reporters. “His smile was contagious and he was one heck of a ball player.”

Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum will be on hand to rename Faillon St. to Gary Carter St. Tuesday afternoon near Uniprix Stadium, which used to be named Jarry Park, where Carter first played with the Expos.

Carter, who was nicknamed “Kid” when he attended Montreal’s training camp in 1974, had some excellent seasons with the Expos. He hit at least 20 home runs eight different times with Montreal and cracked the 100-RBI plateau twice. Carter finished second in NL MVP voting in 1980 when he hit .264 with 29 home runs and 101 RBI and was an all-star 11 times in his career. After leaving the Expos, Carter played five seasons with the New York Mets followed by short stints in San Francisco and Los Angeles before coming back to Montreal for the final season of his career in 1992. He was a big part of the 1984 Mets team that won the World Series. He hit .276 with nine RBI in New York’s seven-game win over San Francisco.

Carter’s widow and daughter plan to be on hand when a Gary Carter Park officially opens on June 15 in a north end Montreal neighborhood. The city also plans to have a number of Little League teams compete in a tournament that weekend for the park’s opening. Carter is just one of two Expos to be elected into the Hall of Fame. Andre “The Hawk” Dawson is the other.